When New York City's Tears Dry
by CNJ
Summary: Kristy, Mona, and Mary Anne, who are college freshmen in NYC, must deal with the aftermath of the horrible WTC tragedy. Completed!
1. Tragedy Hits Home

I have a place in my heart for NYC as you all can tell and I live right near there, so I visit frequently. Hope you all got a look at my poem _Lady Liberty Weeps_ in the poetry section (check my profile). Meanwhile, I've been piecing together a story on how the BSC cope with the WTC disaster. Since Mary Anne, Mona, and Kristy are in NYC for college, they are the ones affected the most. My thoughts go out to all who suffered and to more innocent people who are suffering both here and in Afghanistan through this war. May the Taliban be overthrown and Afghani civilians be freed!   
The usual disclaimers as in my other stories, etc, etc, etc and Randy Zack is also not my character, but of the _Girl Talk_ series author. 

**When New York City's Tears Dry**

By: CNJ 

_PG-13_

**1: Tragedy Hits Home**   


**Mona**: 

Mary Anne rushed off to class that morning after we had a quick tea and couissants for breakfast. I took my time and peered out the dorm window at Lady Liberty. God, it's so great being in New York City, living here. I still can't believe we're college freshmen. we lucked out that our dorm window here at Staten U. has a great view of the New York Harbor and of the Statue of Liberty. She looked so beautiful in the early fall sunlight, the sun glinting off the greenish copper. I smiled asI remembered that we'd arrived here almost a week before Labor Day, just a few days before classes started, Mary Anne, Kristy Thomas, who's at nearby Fellowdean, and I. We'd visited the statue two days before classes started and went up to her crown. It seems like you can see half of NYC from there, but in reality, most of the building in the city are way taller than Ms. Liberty; Ms. Liberty is actually not that tall. Almost eight-thirty, so I grabbed my bag, ran a comb through my dark hair and rushed to my first class, Math 101. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Mary Anne**: 

"...plane CRASHED into the World Trade Center!" Leigh Barrens barreled on.   
"What?!" Several of us turned to look at her. She'd come running into Psych 101 just before it started and announced this to our class.   
"Alll right, very amusing, Leigh, now should I begin my class?" Professor Steingeir came up to the front of the room and ran a hand through her salt-and-pepper hair, which reminded me of our high school principal back at Stoneybrook High, Ms. Silverbein.   
"It's NOT a joke," Leigh insisted. "There is SMOKE all over the skyline and everything!" Most of the students got up from their chairs and booked out down the hall to where the windows were. I slowly followed, my heart pounding. Was there really a plane crash? I got an eerie feeling that something was really wrong, that thousands of people right here in the city were in trouble. Yes...from the window, we could see smoke billowing into view.   
"Oh. My. God..." Geri Lewitz muttered. Even Professor Steingeir followed us out into the hall and saw for herself all the smoke, which was getting blacker and thicker. Just then, the trail suddenly dipped, then got even wider.   
"Is the whole area on _fire_?" Nicole Rameira gasped. It looked like the World Trade Center was on fire at least. That was two towers over one hundred stories tall! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Kristy**: 

"...nothing left but ASHES and rubble," Paul Dansel shook his head as we huddled into one of the lounges to try to get what was going on. I could see the smoke from the window. We all listened in shocked silence about the hijacked planes.   
"EVERYONE died in that World Trade Center!" someone screamed.   
"Shhh, not everyone...there are some survivors," Ran Zack waved for quiet. God, oh, God, I could believe this! How the hell did someone managed to hijack FOUR planes in a row?! After the news broadcast was over, Ran turned off the radio, her hand shaking. "They think it was from Afghanistan."   
"The Taliban...the one that's oppressed women," Mara Zemler nodded.   
"I have to call Mary Anne and Mona," I whispered, my heart pounding. I'm sure they're out of reach of ground zero, but I just had to make sure. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Oh, Kristy!" Mary Anne gasped once I got hold of her and Mona. "Thank the stars you're all right!" She burst into tears and Mona came on.   
"Hi, did they cancel classes at your end?" Mona asked. "They did ours."   
"Yeah..." Out of my dorm window, I saw a fire truck race down, then a bunch of police officers. Sirens began to scream. Other eerie sounds rose and smoke billowed higher over the skyline. "I have the feeling it's like a war zone down there."   
"That's what they said over the news broadcast," Mona confirmed. "Oh, God, Abby and Anna's mom works a few blocks away from us too."   
"We have to see if she's all right!" I heard Mary Anne scream in the background. "Oh, God..." she started weeping again, high wailing sounds that made my spine crawl. This was turning out to one unreal day. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Abby**: 

"Mom, you're all right!" I gasped in relief later that surreal afternoon. "You made it home all right?"   
"In one piece, yes," Mom let out her breath. "Have you heard from Kristy, Mary Anne, or Mona?" She knows they're in New York City, too.   
"N-no, not yet," I told her. I let Anna talk to her for a while, then after we hung up, stood in silence for a long minute.   
"We haven't been able to get hold of Stacey's dad and Samantha yet," Anna whispered. They live closer to Times Square, but we wanted to see if they were all right. Just then, the phone rang. It was Stacey, who goes to Aberdine in Vermont.   
"I reached Dad and Sam and they're all right," Stacey quavered. We talked a bit, not really a coherent conversation, but stilted words trying to reach each other in this crisis. "I'll keep trying for Kristy, Mary Anne, and Mona too, she promised before we hung up. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Finally, I got in touch with my NYC friends. They called me from Mary Anne and Mona's dorm. Another friend of theirs, Ran Zack was there too.   
"Oh, thank the heavens of liberty, you're all right!" I wailed, tears streaking down my face.   
"Is your mom...?" Mona asked.   
"Yeah, she's all right. Oh, God, I can't believe this."   
"Neither can I. It's all so...unreal," Mona told me. Just then the call waiting sounded and they wanted to see who it was. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Dawn**: 

It was a relief to hear that Kristy, Mary Anne and Mona were all right! I'd been trying to reach them from Arizona, but just got hold of them now. Classes out here were canceled for the day also and might be closed tomorrow.   
"It's s-so chilling, seeing all the smoke..." Mary Anne quavered. She sniffled, then added, "It's still there and some of it is going right around the Statue of Liberty."   
"I know, it's awful seeing it here on the news," I said. "Are Mom and Rich...?"   
"We got hold of them and they know we're all right," Mary Anne started to cry again and Kristy took up the phone. Kristy sounded shaken too and we tried offering words of comfort, but not knowing really how effective they were. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

_Back in Stoneybrook_: 

**Karen**: 

Mom, my sister, Emily Michelle, and my brothers David Micheal, and Andrew headed over to Ms. Stevenson's to make sure she was all right once we got the call from Kristy assuring us that she and her friends up there were all right. Ms. Stevenson was shaken, but it was good to see that she'd made it home all right. Mary Anne and Dawn's parents were there too.   
"Thank the skies our kids are all right," Richard told us. Just then, Ms. Vaughn and the Kishis came in.   
"Oh, Sharon, Richard..." Ms. Vaughn went over and hugged them. "Thank goodness, the kids are all right...I spoke with them earlier...did you get a chance to talk?"   
"We did," Sharon nodded, her eyes welling up with tears.   
"The thing is to see them through the next few days and weeks after this tragedy," Mom told us all.   
"Oh, God and if there's a war over this..." Rachel Stevenson added in a low fearful voice. It was a real possibility, with the kind of regime I hear Afghanistan has. The women especially are virtual prisoners; they can't drive, go out without a male escort and are forced to wear chadors with their whole bodies covered, except the eyes.   
"They hit the Pentagon too, " Mr. Kishi put in.   
"Is Janine...?" I asked. Janine is Claudia's older sister and is a cadet at the Naval Academy in Virginia.   
"She all right," Ms. Kishi told me. "She called. And the academy is further down in Virginia, not really in Washington." We stayed for a couple of hours, mulling over what could come out of this horrible event. Rachel started to cry softly and Sharon hugged her, then started to cry too. Mom handed them tissues, tears welling in her own eyes.   
"We're so relieved you're all right, Rachel," Mom touched Ms. Stevenson's shoulder. "If there's anything we can do..."   
"Thank...you..." Rachel wiped her eyes. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

_Back in NYC_: 

**Mary Anne**: 

Mona, Kristy, and I lay on the floor, heads together that night. We talked intermittently, but were mostly quiet. The night was really eerie, but none of us got up to turn on the light. I sat up at one point and could see smoke streaking past Ms. Liberty. If she were a live person, her heart would be breaking and she'd be in tears, I thought. Tears streaked down my face and I sat back down, sobs breaking out of me. Mona put a hand on my shoulder. Kristy sat up and handed me a tissue, her own eyes bright with tears.   
"All those people," Mona whispered. "They say it's in the thousands."   
"Oh...God!" Kristy burst into tears, which made me cry harder. That got Mona started and the three of us cried and cried until we were exhausted. By the time we started for bed, I was a bit light-headed. Kristy was spending the night with us, so we set out a cot for her. I lay awake for a long time, thinking about Afghanistan. Claud had called us a while ago and said that she knew they'd do something soon. We all knew what kind of regime they had. It made me shiver uncontrollably to hear about how the women especially were oppressed there. It's so unreal that in this day and age, in even the most awful dictatorships, that women are denied the right to drive, go out without a male escort and forced to wear these long chadors and could be _killed_ if they were even _suspected_ of adultery or having sex before marriage! If they can do that to their own people, then I wonder what they do if they could to other countries? I wondered fearfully. It took me a long time to fall asleep and it was a troubled sleep at that.   


  


More later! 


	2. Coming Together of a City

~_Dedicated to the brave women and men firefighters of NYC who risked their lives for NYC's citizens and also dedicated to the brave men and women fighting overseas to free the people oppressed by the Taliban so all of us worldwide may live in freedom, equality, and peace_~ 

**When New York City's Tears Dry**

By: CNJ 

_PG-13_

**2: Coming Together Of A City**

**Mary Anne**: 

Time seemed to stand still the next day. Classes were canceled and Kristy stayed with us another day in our dorm. All around us the next few days, we and our fellow students moved in a sort of haze, like the smoke that seeped over the Manhattan Skyline. The three of us kept in close touch with our parents back in Stoneybrook and Kristy's friend, Ran called her mom every so often in Minnesota.   
"They know that we know..." Kara Mulino told us when we gathered in a circle that Friday evening in an informal counseling session of several of us in the dorm. Lazarus Hall really isn't that big a dorm, so bit by bit, all of us, met.   
"Know about what?" several others asked.   
"About the conditions women face there," I put in. "They're appalling. The women are barred from driving, going out without a male, and are forced to wear a burka covering their entire selves. They c-can be killed..." I felt tears well in my eyes and my chin began to quiver. Mona put a hand on mine and we squeezed hands a minute. "...j-just...on rumor of un...married s-sex." The tears spilled down my face and I had to grab several tissues.   
"I've been hearing that too," Marta Juanero put in. "The girls there are kept out of school also."   
"We need to put a stop to this..." Jeri Weng added.   
"Bush is already making plans for war with them," Mona said quietly.   
"But something that will destroy the Taliban, not just bomb them," Kara sipped her tea. We sat for several hours talking. A blood drive was going on tomorrow at Roosevelt Auditorium, so all of us agreed to meet there tomorrow. As we slowly got up to leave, several of us were in tears, including me. It was unreal that so many people were just killed just like that. I seriously hoped something would be done about that evil Taliban and their band, so that it wouldn't happen to more cities. I'd read about terrorist attacks on Europe and Asia that happened in the eighties. Well, it was time we all did something about this. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Mona**: 

"It's good that we're able to do something to help all those victims," Kristy told us as we stood in a huge line outside Roosevelt Auditorium on Saturday afternoon.   
"It sure is," I nodded.   
"All these people turned out," Mary Anne whispered, tears brimming in her eyes. "I love how New Yorkers have pulled together."   
"Me too," I agreed. It's funny how people think of New York City as a cold impersonal place, but now people were banding together to help their city-mates. Since Kristy was eighteen, and Mary Anne and I were almost eighteen, it was the first time any of us had ever given blood. It was a little eerie, but a good feeling. It took an hour, but finally, we got in, took numbers and sat. Kristy went first, then Mary Anne.   
"Good luck..." I called to each of them. There were at least two dozen reclining chairs set up and I watched sacks fill with blood. I noticed some people's blood was bright red, while others were dark red. A few had a cloudy, kind of ketchup-red blood and I wondered if they represented different blood types. I hoped I wouldn't be one of the ones that fainted. Way across the room, I saw Mary Anne sit back in her chair and waved. She waved back and her mouth tried to smile, but kindof quivered. I gave her a nod of encouragement. Just then, my number was called and I followed the technician to a chair. I passed Mary Anne on the way and saw her swallow just as her technician injected the needle into her arm. As for me, the technician joked around a bit, then asked me a few questions, just I couldn't help watching as the needle went into my arm. It was just a small prick, then it faded even though the needle would be in for about five minutes or until the pint bag was filled. It was a bit spooky to see my own blood pouring into the bag. Dark red, I thought. I could see that Mary Anne's blood was dark red too, although because of the angle of our chairs, I couldn't see her face.   
"Hey, there..." Kristy waved as she passed me.   
"Done already?" I asked.   
"Yep." Kristy nodded. "They have cookies and sodas and all this stuff in the other room. I'll grab some for you all and meet you there."   
"Sure," I nodded. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Kristy**: 

Thank the stars none of us fainted. I felt a little lightheaded at first and Mary Anne had a faint headache, but once we had something sweet, it faded. All of us sat talking quietly among ourselves.   
"...so glad Olivia was safe," I heard one woman say as she sipped her soda.   
"God, all those people that are still missing..." her friend put in.   
"They say it's over six thousand people," a third woman said. All of us looked at each other and I gasped.   
"They haven't confirmed it yet," the first woman said. "I'm just glad my sister made it out."   
"How is she?" one of her friends asked.   
"Bruises and a concussion, but she's coming out of the hospital tomorrow." We heard bits and pieces of conversation and it was unreal that there were people right here who'd actually been at ground zero.   
"...was right in the building with her boyfriend when it collapsed. Poor Michelle's crushed over her boyfriend's death," another woman across the table was telling another group of people. "She said it was a strange rumbling, then everything went black and it seemed like a huge gaping pit opened up and they fell endlessly downward into it. They were trapped there for almost nine hours before being rescued. It's a miracle she survived."   
"Thank the stars," the guy sitting next to her added. "She wasn't hurt?"   
"Just some smoke inhalation, a couple of bruises, and a few hours of oxygen shortage. But Paul died. Thank God they found his body quickly and were able to dig her out fast."   
"Poor thing..." another woman added. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Mary Anne**: 

"It's something like scenes out of a really sad movie or book," I said softly once the three of us were on our way back home. Kristy would have dinner with us, then head back home to Fellowdean herself. "One of those really, sad,heartwrenching stories, but hard to believe it happening in real life."   
"Unfortunately, it sometimes does," Mona told us.   
"Yeah..." I wiped tears from my eyes and the three us of were mostly quiet on the way home.   
"I hear they're selling T-shirts that say _I love New York even more_," Kristy suggested. "Want to get together tomorrow and buy some of those?"   
"Sure..." "Yeah..." Mona and I agreed. Then the three of us put our arms around each other and headed up the stairs to our dorm room.   


  


More later! 


	3. Candlelight Rememberance

Disclaimer: Ran or Rowena Zak is the creation of Ms. Blair, author of the _Girl Talk_ series, not of the current author. 

**When New York City's Tears Dry**

By: CNJ 

_PG-13_

**3: Candlelight Remembrance**

**Kristy**: 

"...so, are you coming to the candlelight vigil?" I asked Abby over the phone Thursday almost a week after we'd given blood.   
"Yeah," Abby told me. "Anna and I are coming up Friday night."   
"Good, we'll meet you at the station on Lexington?" I asked.   
"Yep, count on us," Abby told me. "Anna says she's bringing our candles...wha..." Abby paused a minute as Anna apparently said something more. Then she came back on, her voice tight and a little high. "So, w-we'll be there at six on Friday...hang in there..." she sounded close to tears by the time we hung up.   
"Hi..." I said softly when I saw Ran Zak in the doorway.   
"Hi," she said softly, coming in and sitting on the bed. "You're coming to to vigil, right?"   
"Yeah," I told her. "Two of my old high school friends are joining us too. Want some tea?" She nodded, running a hand through her thick black spiky hair. I went into the kitchenette to make the tea. My roommate, Uharu Jakara, was out, but she'd be back later. Ran's met her; she's nice. She was also planning to go to the vigil. I think most of the Staten U. students were planning to go. "You want lemon or green tea?" I called.   
"G-green..." I heard a sob. I quickly put the cups into the microwave and headed to the room. Ran's face was buried in her hands and she was really crying hard!   
"Ohh, I know, I know..." I sat by her and put an arm around her. Just then, Uharu came in.   
"Is everything..." she started. "I guess not," she finished quietly and went to grab some tissues and handed them to Ran. Ran sat up and took them, tears still coming down her face. Ran did part of her growing up here in New York City like Stacey, so this probably hit her hard. She spent the first twelve years of her life in Greenwich Village before moving to a small town in Minnesota. In a way, she reminds me of Stacey and Claud, with her bright clothes and also a little like Mary Anne in that she does have a sentimental side. Uharu and I kept our arms around her until her tears slowed. Then I went to see about the tea. I had brewed, so I offered one to Uharu and the three of us sat and drank. Uharu and I had cookies, but Ran wasn't in a condition to eat, so she mostly sipped tea.   
"We're all going to get through this," Uharu whispered, giving Ran a little hug.   
"It'll be tough, but we'll all get through it," I added. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Mary Anne**: 

The phone ringing made my eyes open that Saturday. I'd just gotten up at around eleven, but was still sleepy. It was Dad and Sharon.   
"Happy birthday, Mary Anne!" they both crowed.   
"It's..." I was dazed a minute. Today's my birthday?   
"How does it feel to be eighteen?" Sharon asked.   
"I'm not sure yet," I managed a weak smile. "I...kind of forgot my birthday was coming..." My nose started to run, so I grabbed a tissue and blew my nose. "'Scuse me..." I muttered, wincing at the _uoonk_ sound my nose made.   
"So...are you still up to a birthday dinner?" Dad asked.   
"Oh...sure, I guess," I rubbed my eyes a little.   
"How've you and your friends been faring this week?" Sharon asked softly.   
"Getting by, I guess," I told them. "In the week, it's easy to just concentrate on the classes, but the weekends...it's harder. A friend of ours, did I tell you about her? She's crushed over this too since she did part of her growing up here."   
"I can imagine," Sharon said softly. "Well, dear...we'll be up at around three, is that all right?"   
"Sure," I told them. "Hey, how about Los Pollos diner?" I suggested.   
"Sounds good." Dad and Sharon agreed. "See you at three." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Mona**: 

All of us...Kristy, Ran, Uharu, Abby, Anna, and I treated Mary Anne to lunch for her birthday. We decided to head to one of the restaurants right near ground zero, kind of to boost their support there, since we had a feeling they'd need it. It turned out to be more crowded than we expected. Many of the people were greeting each other and sending words of support. As we waited for our food, Mary Anne sat back, her eyes full of tears.   
"Are you...?" Kristy asked.   
"It's so touching how New Yorkers have pulled together," she whispered as a tear rolled down her face. It was true. Many of our fellow customers were wearing either American flag shirts or pins or were sporting Statue of Liberty shirts. There were some with shirts that said _I love NY even more_.   
"It's great that so many of them turned out," Uharu added. "In a lot of other places, the whole area would be emptied out." We would eat, then Mary Anne would meet her dad and stepmom for dinner later, then she'd come back to the dorm with them and we'd be there with cake and gifts. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Mary Anne**: 

"We're so proud of you, Mary Anne," Sharon reached over and held my hand.   
"You've handled this crisis so well," Dad added.   
"Thanks..." I told them, my eyes welling up. "Oh, Sharon, Dad, you should see how the people here have pulled together. When we donated blood, the line went out the door and down several blocks."   
"We also gave blood earlier this week," Dad added. "There was quite a line in Stoneybrook too." There was a huge turnout here at the Los Pollos as well. I could still see some remaining smoke down the street. I wondered if I could summon the courage to even go past ground zero, then decided not to think about that for a while. My stomach was a little tight, but I   
managed to eat some.   
"Are you sleeping well?" Dad asked.   
"I...some nights," I told him. "Other nights I've had a few nightmares." It was true. "How is everyone doing back in Stoneybrook?" I asked. "Especially Ms. Stevenson?"   
"They're pulling together, bit by bit," Sharon sipped her apple juice. "Rachel's back at work. She still has crying spells, but we're helping her through it." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

_Back in Stoneybrook_: 

**Vanessa**: 

I was at Karen's house baby-sitting Emily Michelle when Mary Anne and Dawn's folks dropped by and talked with Karen's stepmom for a while.   
"...They've handled this all so well," Sharon was saying.   
"...really making a good go at adult life," Richard added.   
"Like another door closing and another one opening," Ms. Thomas put in. "The kids...well, they're not kids anymore, it seems like yesterday that they were. Seems so short a time ago, that Kristy came up with the BSC."   
"Kind of sad and happy to see them all grow so fast," Sharon sighed. "Next will be Karen, Vanessa, Charlotte, and Becca ready to leave for college."   
"I know..." Ms. Thomas and Richard added. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Mary Anne**: 

All of us wore either dark colors or American flag shirts. I wore a simple black dress myself that Sunday as we went to the candlelight vigil which was held at the Yankee Stadium late that afternoon. It was one of the most haunting, chilling experience of my life, yet there was something cathartic about it. Various singers sang and played music and bit by bit, we put our candles down on a sort of makeshift memorial. Most of us were crying and I couldn't stop tears from running down my own face. Everyone in our group were arm-in-arm and by the middle of the ceremony, all of us were crying really hard. My heart squeezed with a painful ache as I listened to the alarming sounds of sobs, keens, and tears all around. I was a little frightened by the sound of my own weeping, which came out in ragged, hoarse, high keening. It seems as if the entire city of New York had dissolved into tears. Ran leaned into me, sobs ripping out of her and I held her tight. I cried into her shoulder while Kristy cried into mine.   
"...s-saw _tears_ on the Statue of Liberty's face on the way down here..." someone whispered. I wouldn't be surprised, I thought. Even though rationally, I knew she was a statue, some emotional part of me figured it was possible with a tragedy of this magnitude that Ms. Liberty had a lot of tears to shed right along with the people of New York City.   


  


More later! 


	4. Hearts Healing

**When New York City's Tears Dry**

_By_: CNJ 

_PG-13_

**4: Hearts Healing**

  


**Mary Anne**: 

All of us grieved. Bit by bit, since the candlelight vigil, we began to pick up the pieces and move on...all of us BSC, Staten and Fellowdean U's, the city of New York, our folks back in the old town...our nation. We went on with classes, but made time for tears in between. I myself had a number of crying spells over the next two months that slowly spaced out at widening intervals. None of us were surprised that our country as well as several European countries went to war with the Afghan Taliban.   
"If any good comes out of this, it will be that the Taliban's overthrown," Kristy told us the first Friday in November where we were waiting for a table at the Wall Street Diner.   
"Let's hope they can get an interim government in place and let the people decide what they want next," Mona added. Ran, Kristy, Mona, and I were eating here. Being Friday night, it was about an hour wait for a table. Ran's heart was slowly healing, since she had REALLY been devastated back in September when this all first happened. We'd been moving around in a sort of shock for several weeks, but now felt as if we were emerging from it. All of us were in regular touch with our folks back in Stoneybrook. I've been e-mailing Dad and Sharon at least twice a week and they tell me that Abby and Anna's mom is slowly healing. She went back to work by September 13, just two days after 9/11. All of us original BSC e-mail at last once a week to keep close touch. Hard to believe we've been in college for two months. We were all planning to see each other and our folks back in Stoneybrook for the Thanksgiving break in a few weeks. I love New York City even more now and I have the feeling many others, including Kristy, Mona, and Ran feel the same way. I was wearing my _I Love NY Even More_ sweatshirt tonight and Ran had on her Statue of Liberty sweatshirt.   
"Liberty still has a lot of healing to do," Ran leaned on a rail. We nodded, knowing what she was talking about, the Statue of Liberty. I know Liberty's a statue, but she seems so human, I can imagine her shedding tears. I'd seen a lot of political cartoons on her crying over the WTC disaster. Just then, our table became available and we were seated. It was so good to see NYC getting back on track. Tears still came for a lot of us, I could see, but we were just getting on with classes and work and all. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**Kristy**: 

"...And this is our finale for the City of New York!" the announcer boomed over the microphone two weeks later as a huge crowd of us stood at the benefit concert for New York. It seemed like _millions_ of people were here, cheering, whooping and applauding. I was glad we'd decided to come to this concert to raise money for the victims' compensation fund and the firefighters. A lot of the firefighters had come out, both men and women, to our relief. I was here with Mary Anne, Mona, Shane, Ran, Uharu, and Greta. I loved this outpouring of NYC pride. Despite the plane crash a week ago, which to our relief, had been an accident, NYC was moving forward.   
"Feeling better, Mary Anne?" I whispered.   
"Yeah..." Mary Anne nodded. She'd been sick with a cold with a bit of flu last weekend and still coughs sometimes now, but seemed better. Mona looked out for her last weekend.   
"Wasn't it stupid the way some assholes tried to boo Hillary off the stage in one benefit last week?" Ran asked.   
"Yeah, I couldn't believe that!" Mary Anne put in.   
"A group of fire fighters in front of them glared them into silence," Shane put in. "I liked how Hillary made a joke about how she stirs up the best and the worst in people." We all chuckled at that. Hillary's a terrific Senator and has been a real asset to this city.   
"She's already done a lot for this city," Mona added as we edged down the street with the crowd and out of the concert area.   
"And that's remarkable considering the shit that some of those Republican idiots gave her in the campaign," Mary Anne added. "I read something that Hillary's even offered support to Guiliani, even though they ran against each other last year."   
"Let's hear it for the Big Apple!" I bellowed, raising a fist in the air.   
"Yeah..." several others added. It was great to be a New Yorker. 


	5. Epilogue

**When New York City's Tears Dry**

By: CNJ 

_PG-13_

**_Epilogue_**

  


Last chapter of "When New York City's Tears Dry!" Hope all of you enjoyed this story! 

_Seven years later_: 

**Mona**: 

All of us...Kristy, Mary Anne, Greta, Wyser, Ran, and I along with the rest of the BSC stood at the edge of the sidewalk along with millions of others and watched as the flag unfurled over the new World Exchange Building, or the WEB for short. It was a beautiful sight. It was a brick skyscraper, a single tower just as tall as the twin towers of the old World Trade Center had been. Several New York officials gave speeches including Hillary Clinton. It was neat seeing her even at a distance. At the end of her speech, Mary Anne burst into tears and a lot of us whooped as the ribbon was cut. I looked around at my friends. So hard to believe we were all starting on our careers and two of us, Kristy and Claudia had gotten married last year. In November, I'd be twenty-five just like the rest of the original BSC. Mary Anne would be twenty-five in just two days. Claudia had started an advertising and studio firm, Kisyam Advertising and Studio and it was getting off the ground, having been running for almost three years and she'd married a Tom Lisner and was pregnant with her first kid. One of the first things it advertised was Kristy's business, Kat furniture and appliances, which specialized in products for left-handers. From that, Kristy's business was now growing too and she was looking into opening another store in Minnesota and making it into a chain business. Too bad Shane wasn't the one she married; he'd gotten a job offer overseas teaching at a college in Ireland and had gone there right after he and Kristy had graduated from Fellowdean U. They'd tried staying close, but it was hard and they eased apart. Then two years ago, Kristy met Carl Bineware while they both were working as photocopier technicians for the Empire State Building. Kristy, meanwhile was starting her business with the cash she earned from her "cheese job" as she called it. And they started dating, fell in love and all that kit and caboodle and last year, got married. Right now, they live in an apartment in Flushing, a suburb of New York City. It had been quite some college years, I reflected as we listened to a few more speeches, watched a couple of documentaries, and all. Mary Anne, Stacey, and I had graduate degrees now and Stacey was a starting engineer while working on her doctorate at Aberdine U. Seven years since westarted adulthood. Seven years since the WTC disaster. Bit by bit, we'd won this war and freed Afghanistan, so now it was a democracy. Even Iraq was safe to travel too now since its dictatorship fell last year and it was free. Last April, several of us...Claudia, her roommate, Aya, Kristy, Stacey, and Mary Anne took a trip to Iraq and had a blast. So some good did come out of that tragedy, I thought. I thought of how far I'd come...I was working as a vet now and loved the work while Mary Anne was now teaching English at a middle school and we each now had our own apartments. Greta and Wyser moved into their apartment as well and are officially a couple now. Mary Anne and I had shared a house with them and split the rent for the last year of undergrad school and all three years of grad school and it was a good experience and we're now experienced athaving our own home. Home...New York City felt like home more than ever as I watched the lights light up the new tower in the twilight. I whooped along with all our fellow New Yorkers, feeling so proud of our city and how we'd pulled back up from tragedy and moved on with our lives.   
"That was wonderful," Mary Anne wiped her eyes as we walked down the street and to the subway. Since it was Saturday, we decided to go out to eat to celebrate. We ended up in Times Square eating at the Madley House. As we ate, I peered in the direction of the New York harbor.   
"I think Liberty's heart's healed," Kristy told me as she followed my gaze. Of course we couldn't see the Statue of Liberty from here, but I smiled softly and had the feeling that yes, Ms. Liberty's heart had mended and she was able to smile her first genuine smile in a long time.   
"Let's all have a toast," Ran announced. "To all New York City and our fellow New Yorkers..." We all clinked glasses.   
"And to the new WEB!" Kristy added. WEB seemed to represent our info age in its new acronym.   
"WE LOVE NEW YORK EVEN MORE!" All of us chimed in at the same time, then whooped.   


~~~_2002 Storyline Copyright_ by **CNJ**~~~ 


End file.
